Slide fastener wear testing machine



Oct. 14, 1947. J. B. GRIFFIN 2,429,055

v SLIDE FASTENER WEAR TESTING MACHINE Filed Jun 14, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet1 .ATI'UJTNEY Oct. 14, 1947. J. B.- GRIIFFIN 2,429,055

SLIDE FASTENER WEAR TESTING MACHINE Filed June 14, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2A T TOENEY Patented Oct. 14 1947 SLIDE FASTENER WEAR TESTING'MAGHINEJohn B. vGriffin, .Oakville, ,Conm, iassignor to United States RubberCompany, N w York,v

N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application June 14, 1945, ScrialNo.599,407

(or. res-.7)

7 Claims.

This invention relates to a testing machine for testing the wearin r pet es of a s dest ner when its slider is pu ed b k and r h in a curvedpat alon a s inger.

It has been propos d heretofore. t test th wearinspron rties of a s de fstenerby m chanically moving th slider back and orth a straight linealon its stringer. iltf equeotly happens, h wever, that sl defastenersarereq ired to assume a c rved po i i n m se. and it is moredifiicultxfor the slider t mo e back andxforthxalon a curved .strih erhan along a straightone.

.It is therefore desira le. at least insomecases. to test the wearingprop rties of a slideiastene when the slider ,is required to travel alona stringer that is forced to assume a ourvedposition. The pre ent inveni n therefore contemp ates a testin machine adapted tohold th strin er'ofa slide fastener in a; ul extended condition were cu ve support whilethe slid r is chanically movedba k and for halon rthe curved stringer totest the wearing properties of the slide fastenerunderthese conditions.

One feature of the present invention resides in a curved s pport u on ic-the slide fastene to be t s ma be sec r d i 13 film/ex ded condition sothat the fastener tapes of the strin ill be mainta ed in a stre chedcon- .dition Whilethe slider ismoved back and forth along the stringer.

I Another feature resides in spaced yielding anchoringmeans attached toone end of each fastener tape and disposed a substantial distance apartso that these tapes will be pulled away from each other with a spreadingaction as they'are unlocked by the slider. I

In some cases it may be desirable to test-a slide fastener when thestringer is maintained in ,a curved position with the slider at theconcaved side of the curved stringer, and in other cases it may be.desirable to test the slide fastener while the stringer is maintainedina curved con- 2 Fig.2 isa side View of themachine shown in Fi 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional View taking substantially on the line 33 of Fig.2.

Fig. dis an enlarged sectional view of parts shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 shows a clamp for securing one end of a --fastener tape to ananchoring spring.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing how the slot covering strip passesslidably onto the stringer supporting wall of the machine of Fig. 1 and;

Fig. 7 is a sid view showing a modification of the testing-machine.

Since the testing machine contemplated by the present invention isdesigned to test slide fasteners when the-slider thereof is pulled backand forth upon the stringer along a curved path, the present-machine isconstructed to provide a curved support for the stringer. This supportas shown is formed of sheet metal as indicated thisarcuate condition bysecuring its side edges to the curved surfaces of the side walls II and25- lzso-that the upper edge portion of the sheet H! extends in ahorizontal direction and the lower edgeportionextendsin a verticaldirection as shown in Fig. 2. The sheet In is provided with the centralslot 13 extending upwardly from its lower edge throughout the curvedportion of this sheet. This slot is provided so that the pulltab of aslide fastener may extend therethrough to the inside ofthe curvedsupport formed by the sheet I0, to be engaged by power operating meanssuch as the rocking arm 14 that is rigidly secured to the actuatingshaft l5. This shaft isdisposed concentrically to the are formed by thesheet I0 and is journaled in bearings l6 carried. by the side walls IIand I2. To the outer end of the arm I4 is secured a .clamp comprisingthe fixed member Hand movable member l8 and adapted to be forced onetowards the other by the U-shaped yoke I9 having a clamping screw vl9.

It is desirable to oscillate the shaft: so as to rock the arm 14 backand forth through an angle of approximately degrees. This isaccomplished in the construction shown by securing to one end of theshaft l5 outside of the .side wall l2 the short arm 2 I. This side wallhas rotatably mounted thereupon at some distance from the shaft l5 thestub shaft 22 on which is rotatably mounted the grooved pulley 23adapted to be rotated by a belt not shown. When this pulley is ot t d itwill impart roc in movement to the short arm 2| by means of the link 24,one end of which is pivotally secured to the outer end of the arm 2! andthe other end is pivotally secured to the pulley 23 to one side of itscentral axis as at 25.

When a slide fastener is to be tested, such for example as aconventional slide fastener comprising the slider 26 adapted to slidealong the fastener tapes 2? having the usual locking elements 28 andwhich tapes together form a stringer, one end of the slide fastener isclamped against the outer surface of the curved plate ill by theclamping bar 29, and to the other end of each tape 21 is secured a clamp39 which is best shown in Fig. 5. Each clamp 30 is yieldingly secured toan anchoring post 3| by a coiled spring 32. This serves to pull thetapes apart with a spreading action as they are unlocked. The slidefastener is positioned as shown over the slot l3 so that the pull tab 33of the slide fastener may extend inwardly through this slot and begripped by the clamp by means best shown in Fig. 4.

It has been found in practice that the tension exerted upon the closedslide fastener by the springs 32 may tend to pull the slide fastenerinto the slot 13. This is prevented by providing the relatively longcovering strip 34 which is provided near its upper end with a transverseslot through which the pull tab 33 may extend. The strip 34 is longenough to cover the entire slot l3 and extend downwardly into the baseportion of the testing machine Where it enters the curved guiding sheath35. The arrangement is such that as the arm I4 is oscillated by thepower operating mechanism described so as to move the slider 26 back andforth along the tapes 2! the covering strip 3'3 will likewise slide backand forth over the surface of the plate [6 and back and forth in itssheath 35.

Since the purpose of the present machine is to test the wearingproperties of a slide fastener by pulling the slider back and forthwhile the stringer is maintained in a curved position, it is desirableto provide counting means to show how many times the slider is actuatedto open and close the slide fastener. Therefore the present machine isshown as having a counter 36 of well known construction secured to theinner face of the wall ll and adapted to be actuated by the connectingrod 31, the upper end of which is pivotally secured to a short arm 38that is rigidly secured to the oscillating shaft l5.

The testing machine so far described is designed to test a slidefastener by moving the slider back and forth along the stringer whenthis slider is disposed at the inner face of the curved arc defined bythe stringer. Should it be desirable to turn the slide fastener over sothat the slider will be disposed at the outer convexed surface definedby the curved slide fastener, this may be done by employing the modifiedconstruction shown in Fig. 7 where the slide fastener being tested restsupon the curved metal sheet 39 which is supported by the side walls 40substantially as shown in Fig. 1 except that the sheet 39 is notprovided with a slot such as I3 of Fig. 1. The slide fastener inaccordance with Fig. 7 is clamped in place upon the sheet 39 by the sametype of clamping means shown in Fig. l but the slide fastener is securedin place so that the slider 26 is disposed at the outer curved surfaceof the stringer as shown in Fig. 7. This permits the pull tab 33 to besecured by the clamp 4! against one face of the oscillating bar 42,which bar has its opposite ends secured to the rocking arms 43, theinner ends of which arms are rigidly secured to the oscillating shaft l5outside of the side walls H and I2. The arrangement is such that whenthe shaft I5 is oscillated as above described the bar 42 will be movedback and forth in an arc of a circle just outside of the outer curvedsurface of the supporting plate 39, to thereby move the slider back andforth along the curved stringer.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protectby Letters Patent is:

1. A testing machine for testing the wearing 7 properties of a slidefastener having a slider that travels along a stringer formed of twofastener tapes; said machine comprising a curved support for thestringer, means for anchoring the opposite ends of the stringer so a tohold the slide fastener stretched over said curved support, and poweractuated means for pulling the slider back and forth in a curved path tolock and unlock said tapes.

2. A testing machine for testing a slide fastener having a slider thattravels along a stringer formed of two fastener tapes; said machinecomprising a curved support for the stringer, means for anchoring oneend of the stringer, widely spaced yielding anchoring means adapted tobe secured to the tapes so as to hold the slide fastener stretched oversaid curved support and to spread the tapes apart as the slider is movedtowards the open position, and power actuated means for pulling theslider back and forth in a curved path to lock and unlock said tapes.

3. A testing machine for testing a slide fastener having a slider thattravels along a stringer; said machine comprising a curved slottedsupport for the stringer, means for anchoring the opposite ends of thestringer so as to hold the slide fastener stretched over the slottedportion of the curved support, and power actuated means connected to theslider through said slot and operable to move the slider back and forthin a curved path along the stringer.

4. A testing machine for testing a slide fastener having a slider thattravels along a stringer; said machine comprising a curved slottedsupport for the stringer, means for anchoring the opposite ends of thestringer so as to hold the slide fastener stretched over the slottedportion of the curved support and power actuated means connected to theslider through said slot and operable to move the slider back and forthin a curved path along the stringer, and a sliding slot cover positionedbetween the curved support and stringer.

5.'A testing machine for testing a slide fastener having a slider thattravels along a stringer; said machine comprising a curved support forthe stringer, means for anchoring the opposite ends f e er so as to1101a the slide fastener stretched over this curved support, and poweractuated means located at the concave side of the curved support andoperable to move the slider back and forth in a curved path along thestringer.

6. A testing machine for testing the wearing properties of a slidefastener having a slider that travels along a stringer and a pull tabattached 'thereto, said machine comprising a curved supoperable to pullthe slider back and forth along the curved path of the stringer.

'7. A testing machine for testing the wearing properties of a slidefastener having a slider that travels along a stringer and a pull tabattached thereto; said machine comprising a curved supported for thestringer, means for anchoring the opposite ends of the stringer so as tohold the slide fastener stretched over said curved support, and a poweractuated member disposed in spaced relation to said support so that theslide fastener lies therebetween and is connected to said tab to pullthe slider back and. forth along the stringer.

JOHN B. GRIFFIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,087,295 Jaros et al. Feb. 17,1914 1,629,858 Browning May 24, 1927 2,079,591 Bartell May 11, 19372,113,290 Benjamin Apr. 5, 1938

